Penix, the Hoosiers’ early enrollee from Tampa Bay Tech in Florida, has been on campus since the start of the spring semester. He has been pushed off the deep end into offseason workouts and playbook study, and is intent on adding weight to his 205-pound frame.

But whatever learning curves he has to flatten between now and the fall, Penix is confident he can force his way into position coach Nick Sheridan’s thinking next season.

“(IU) coach (Tom) Allen told me when I came in, he said it’s gonna be open competition,” Penix said last week. “He has nobody at that starting spot right now. We’re all competing, day to day, workouts, running, we’re always competing, and whenever we get on the field throwing, he said it’s gonna be a competition.”

A signing day addition to Allen’s 2018 class — his first full class as IU coach — Penix was originally committed to Tennessee. But a coaching change in Knoxville left the 6-3 quarterback looking for a new program.

Penix had always intended on enrolling early at Tennessee, and wanted to start his college career midyear at his new school as well. Having been on the Tennessee coaching staff before coming to Indiana, Sheridan and offensive coordinator Mike DeBord had a pre-existing relationship with Penix and his family.

When he became a viable option, Allen pulled out all the stops, at one point even bringing five coaches to an in-home visit in the build-up to the December signing window.

Penix narrowed his list to IU, Florida State and South Florida, picking the Hoosiers on signing day. Now, he joins a quarterback room with just 205 collegiate pass attempts among its occupants. All of those belong to Peyton Ramsey, who won the starting job for a spell last season before being sidelined through injury.

Provided he can make the most of the offseason, and bulk up like he knows he needs to, Penix said he believes he can make a quick impact on the competition for snaps.

“Right now, I need to get bigger,” he said. “I feel like I’m in the mix now. I feel like I could be a big factor now. I’m just trying to focus on getting bigger right now, because it’s Big Ten football. It’s way different from high school.”

In Penix, IU signed an impressively accurate left-hander who threw just six interceptions over two seasons as a starter at Tampa Bay Tech. In that same stretch, Penix accounting for 61 passing and 16 rushing touchdowns, and was named Hillsborough County Player of the Year in 2017.

He was listed the No. 21 pro-style quarterback in the country by the 247Sports Composite, and the second-best such player in his class from the state of Florida.

And Allen said in December he sees Penix’s mobility as an underrated asset. In Allen’s mind, Penix is as much a dual-threat quarterback as a pass-first prospect. Penix said he wants to be known primarily for his arm, but added, “I can run when I need to.”

That would fit the vision Allen has laid out for his quarterbacks long term — not always on the run, but certainly capable of hurting opponents with their feet.

Penix has two offseason workout cycles, one spring season and one fall camp to see if he can make that future outlook become Indiana’s present.

“It’s gonna be great,” Penix said of enrolling early. “It’s gonna help me out, let me know the team better, get ahead of the game, get a stronger relationship with the receivers, the offensive line especially, because they’ll be the ones protecting me. I just want to gain the upperclassmen’s trust.”